The Ewoks of the Himalayas
The red panda looks a shy, fluffy distant cousin to the more well-known North American raccoon. They live in (and munch on) the Himalayan mountains' bamboo forests with the Giant Panda. They live alone or in small groups and are mostly nocturnal. However, though they share a name and habitat with pandas and look like raccoons, as you will learn below, they are truly one-of-a-kind.
Although the red panda has spent time as a member of the bear and racoon families, it is actually not directly related to either. Recent DNA studies have shown that the red panda is in a class by itself - literally. Taxonomists have given the red pandas their own family name: Ailuridae.
While their family does share common ancestors with raccoons and panda bears, they last time they could have attended a family reunion together was millions of years ago. The red panda is the only living member of its taxonomic family.
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